• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

A Little Luxury For Me

Restaurant

Cielo Restaurant Review

March 31, 2014 by Erica Hughes 37 Comments

duck two ways

Duo D’Anatra

We hadn’t been to Cielo for a few years.  I can’t remember exactly when, but I’m guessing 3 or 4 years ago and that wasn’t our first visit by any means, so this is a well established eatery.  For a restaurant to survive that long in the bubble that is Brindley Place and Broad Street, says a lot I think.  So many restaurants come and go and only succeed in drawing in custom for a short time, by coming up with some sort of novelty factor or going for heavy discounting.

Cielo is at the upper end of the middle range of restaurants, just a step below a fine dining establishment.  As my husband works nearby, we often walk past in the evening and it usually seems to be pleasantly busy.  It’s the sort of place you might pick for a family celebration or a date night out with your other half.

Gorgonzola with steak and chunky chips

Bistecca Al Gorgonzola

I started with the Gamberoni All’Aglio, a dish of pan-fried tiger prawns, which were sautéed in white wine, with fresh chopped parsley, chilli and garlic butter.  The prawns were nicely cooked, but needed a generous coating of the white wine cooking liquor to pick up on the flavours.  If you love duck, like my husband, then the Duo D’Anatra is a real treat.  There’s a confit of Gressingham duck which uses the flavoursome leg meat to good effect.  The other way the duck is presented in the form of a ‘bonbon’.   Served with a Swiss chard salad and a Grand Marnier reduction, this is a memorable dish and one that I think we’ll be ordering again.

For my main course, I was in a hungry mood so I opted for the gutsy Bistecca Al Gorgonzola. Now I’m not usually a fan of blue cheeses, but the gorgonzola really went well with the sirloin steak, helping to bring out the flavours, and the chips were simply divine. It was all brought together with a complementary red wine reduction.

Cielo Tiramisu

Tiramisu

My husband opted for the Merluzzo Al Pomodoro.  This is Scotch cod with chorizo sausage, borlotti beans, garlic, chilli, basil and passata sauce.  As you’d expect the sauce is strongly flavoured with these tastes of the Mediterranean.  The cod was a fraction overcooked maybe, but the very slight dryness of the fish was compensated for by the depth and complexity of the sauce.

Doesn’t this Tiramisu look simply divine?  It’s very much a classic take on this most Italian of desserts with its characteristic amaretto flavouring.  As my husband’s favourite dessert is tiramisu, it was no surprise to me when he picked this one out off the menu to finish our meal.  It’s a nicely generous helping too and beautifully presented.  As you’d expect it slid down very nicely.

CREMA BRUCIATA

Crema Bruciata

Meanwhile I opted for the Crema Bruciata.  This is an orange flavoured crème brûlée, served with glazed orange segments and cape gooseberries.  This was delivered with a light touch and was a very elegant dessert.  I’d have liked a little more orange flavour in the crème brûlée as I felt it could take a bit more.  It was a gorgeous dessert though and one I’d happily order again.

 

 

Filed Under: Restaurant

Gadds Town House Restaurant Review

November 15, 2013 by Erica Hughes 5 Comments

salmon three ways at Gadds Town house restaurantRecently I wrote about our stay at Gadds Town House in Durham.  One evening we went for a two course dinner in the hotel restaurant.

I started my meal with the Salmon Threesome which consisted of scottish smoked salmon, cured gravalax and kiln roast salmon served with spiced, buttered brown bread soldiers.  If like me you love salmon, this is a lovely dish.  You get three different, but complementary treatments of top quality salmon.  Buttered brown bread soldiers are the perfect accompaniment too.

fish cake with egg and caper mayoMy husband was tempted by the Scotch ‘Fish’ Cake.  This was a soft boiled, free range hens egg which was bound in seafood which had been rolled in a spiked crumb mix.  It was served with a caper and gurk mayo.  The egg was soft boiled inside its seafood Scotch egg casing. Melting perfectly into the seafood, the yolk added to and combined with the flavours of the seafood.  So we had a very successful first course.

steak and chips off the boneAs my husband isn’t a big beef fan, I often end up choosing a beef option when I eat out. This time I couldn’t resist the draw of some Northumbrian cattle which were well aged having been hung for at least 21 days.  There are a choice of four cuts of steak, so you can pick your favourite.  All the steaks come with hand-cut, triple cooked chips which were very tasty (the husband kept trying to steal them) and sweet red onion rings.  I thought the use of red onion in the onion rings was a good choice and it added a different flavour to using normal, brown onions.

My husband opted for the Roast Duck. It was served sliced and pink with a butternut puree, sticky red cabbage, goose fat potatoes and hedgerow sauce.    The duck was nicely cooked and the red cabbage made an ideal pairing.

We enjoyed eating at Gadds Town House Restaurant so much that we did try to eat there a second night.  Sadly though we’d left it a bit late to ask for a table and we couldn’t be fitted in when we wanted.  So it’s worth booking your table in advance.

 

Filed Under: Restaurant

Bank Restaurant Birmingham

October 15, 2013 by Erica Hughes 1 Comment

Smoked Salmon at Bank Restaurant Birmingham

Smoked Salmon

The other weekend we went to Bank in Birmingham for a celebration meal for my father-in-law’s 70th birthday.  We were a party of nine people including one 6-year-old.  Between us we sampled quite a range off the menu, but I’ll mostly talk about what I tried myself.

oysters at bank restaurant birmingham

Oysters

I started with the smoked salmon which is always a favourite of mine.  It was a high quality smoked salmon with a subtly complementary honey, mustard and dill dressing.  The Oysters that some of the party had looked fantastic as did the Beef Carpaccio that my husband tried.

Native Lobster

Lobster

Both my husband and I had the Native Lobster. We both had a really stand out Lobster Thermidor, some years ago, at The Marcliffe Hotel in Aberdeen and I think we were hoping that this dish would measure up to it.  Sadly it didn’t, we were both underwhelmed.  The portion seemed a bit stingy for the price and the dish failed to make the best of the natural flavours of its main ingredient.  We may have been a bit unlucky as other dishes round the table seemed to meet with approval.

child's fish and chipsMy son at 6 is quite the little gourmet and he loves visiting restaurants.  Fish and chips is a favourite of his and he was very happy to find it on the menu.  Incidentally, there isn’t a printed children’s menu, but the waiting staff can tell you what is available.  He liked it very much and enjoyed his generous portion of fish.  I think though there could have been a few more chips on the plate.  We didn’t get offered any children’s entertainment like activity sheets or coloured pencils, so make sure you bring something with you if you have children in your party.

warm chocolate brownie

Brownie

For dessert I had a Warm Chocolate Brownie.  The brownie was ultra rich with a dense, chocolatey flavour and a generous amount of nuts running through. It was a very satisfying dessert and finished the meal on a high for me.

We found the service to be good, but relaxed.  Possibly a touch too relaxed at times as it was a little while before we were taken to our table.  We didn’t feel rushed or pressured though and the meal went very smoothly indeed.  It’s nice that Bank have some larger, round tables which were perfect for our gathering.  Bank has a lovely location in Brindley Place, just on the edge of the canal so there are good views from the main dining room and the outdoor terrace (with comfy seats).

Filed Under: Restaurant Tagged With: Brindley Place

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

About Me

ericaI’m Erica Hughes: interested in beauty products as well as being a keen foodie and amateur cook. I write here about my passions in life including good food, fine wine, beauty plus all the little luxuries that make life worthwhile.

  • Bloglovin
  • E-mail
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

About/Contact

PR/Advertising

Privacy Policy

Categories

  • Competition
  • Cooking
  • Drink
  • Entertainment
  • Family
  • Fashion
  • Food
  • Gadgets
  • General
  • Gifts
  • Health
  • Home
  • Hotel
  • Jewelry
  • Music
  • Pampering
  • Plants and Gardening
  • Restaurant
  • Silent Sunday
  • Sports
  • travel

Copyright © 2022 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress